Little People
by An Indigo Moon
Summary: Sometime PostChosen. While patrolling Buffy encounters a strange sight and finds that she might not be alone in the ultimate fight against evil... Eventual Spuffy. T to give me room. DISCONTINUED FOR NOW.
1. Sights on Patrol

Summary: Sometime Post-Chosen. While patrolling Buffy encounters a strange sight and finds that she might not be alone in the ultimate fight against evil... Eventual Spuffy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, because if I did I would have made that lost episode where Angel figures out that Buffy was alive again in Season Six. Cause that thing killed me. Stake through the heart kind of deal. Even though I'm not a vampire. Okay, shutting up now.

Chapter One -Sightson Patrol

Buffy was patrolling, just like every night. Even if it was Saturday and happened to be her birthday as well, it didn't mean that the vamps were just going to sit inside their musty old crypts and say, 'Hey, it's the Slayer's birthday! Why don't we give her the day off?' Not that she wanted a day to relax. She needed to kill something. And quickly.

She strode through the dark cemetery, taking great care not to trip over the extremely small headstones that laid there. This was probably her least favorite graveyard of all, since there were no trees to blot out the sky that lacked the moon and stars, the markers were no more then little rocks, and it was at least a mile and a half long each way. Course, what do you expect when the yard is right outside of a huge city where at least fifteen people die each day?

Buffy sighed and twirled her stake in her hand. A dapple of moonlight shone through the clouds as the late night wind made them to continue their journey across the sky, causing the single statue in the center of the cemetery to shimmer from gray to silver. It was beautiful, sure… in a semi-morbid way. She just didn't like New York, period. She'd much rather be in California.

With funds from their father – who miraculously remembered his daughters existed when Sunnydale fell into a giant crater, Dawn and Buffy had bought a house in a little suburban town called Chester, just outside of the Big Apple. They traveled often, though. Giles was still in England with Andrew (who Dawn wrote daily letters to in the delusion that Buffy had no idea what was going on between them), Xander had gone down to Africa to finally explore the world, Kennedy and Willow were in South America visiting Kennedy's cousins and recruiting new Slayers, and Faith and Robin were up in Canada somewhere, doing who knows what. They had, of course, left some Slayers to guard the Hellmouth in Cleveland. Vi and Rona were in charge of that group.

Then there was the traveling for fun. Dawn kept insisting to go to boarding school in England or Italy, so there was that little expenditure when they visited the private schools. Dawn had absolutely loved London and wanted to stay there forever – the fact that Andrew was there had a large impact on that, while all it did was remind Buffy of a certain bleached blond vampire with a black duster and an addiction to cigarettes. Almost everything reminded her of him, though, as Dawn had pointed out once in their hotel room in Romania, and she hadn't denied it. A lighter or a bottle of Jack Daniel's finest brought up memories of him, of his smell, of his touch.

But she was dealing. Oh, she was always dealing. The most common phrase she had heard from her friends these past couple months were 'Are you okay?' Of course she was. She was in her own little world, dealing.

Suddenly, a large, burly vampire jumped out from behind one of the three mausoleums that were on the edge of the graveyard. She plunged a stake through his heart without a second thought, walked right over the pile of dust she created, and sighed. Slaying wasn't even fun anymore.

Up ahead, a snarl reached her ears, along with shouts of distress. Finally, something fun. Saving people was better then just killing vampires, because now she felt semi-guilty since they weren't exactly doing anything wrong. But when they attacked people (and children, by the sound of it), she had a definite reason to go in for the kill and enjoy it.

She burst into a run, shooting towards the mausoleum at the far side of the cemetery. Of course, she was a mile and a half away, being at the other crypt. Buffy couldn't see the kids, as they were hidden by the stone building, but by the sounds of it there were about three, matched evenly with three vampires. She gave an extra burst of speed and raced into the fray.

There were three people there – she had guessed right – standing in a face-off with the vampires, each panting hard. One was a girl of about fifteen, with long black hair separated into two plaits and forest green eyes. She held a stake in her hand and a crossbow was slung over her back. Next to her was a young boy around thirteen holding a broadsword in one hand and a small double-edged fighting axe in the other. His shoulder length sandy brown hair was wild, and he had a maniacal grin on his face that reflected in his hazel eyes. Lastly, a little girl of about ten stood armed with two throwing daggers, blond hair worked free of its ponytail and blue eyes blazing.

Buffy stood there, mouth agape. Neither human nor vampire had seen her yet, so she backed behind a stone wall and watched. If they needed help, she was here. But something told her that these kids were handling it perfectly fine.

The vampires rushed at them again. With a lightning fast motion, the older girl whipped the crossbow off her back and shot an arrow directly into a vampire's heart. He collapsed into a pile of dust. But the girl didn't praise herself on her victory. Instead she threw the stake to the blond girl, calling her name as it flew. "Serenity!"

The ten year old dropped one of her daggers and caught the wood in her hand without taking her eyes of the vampire in front of her. He paused before aiming a kick at her stomach. She bounced back out of his reach and did a flip over his head, landing behind him. Before the vamp could turn around, a stake was protruding from his back and he was dust in the wind.

The boy didn't kill his foe straight off like the girls. The two were fighting, matched blow for blow. But something told Buffy that the boy was holding back. Maybe it was the tension in his muscles, waiting to be released. Maybe it was his eyes and his grin, implying that he had something the vampire could never beat. Or maybe it was his chuckle when his opponent hit him that sent shivers down her spine. The two other girls watched, bored.

The oldest rolled her tongue in her mouth, waiting for her companion to finish his work. Eventually, after about two minutes, she couldn't take it anymore and she called out to him. "Luke, just stake him already!"

The guy looked her way and rolled his eyes before picking up his discarded ax and whipping the head off his vampire foe. He dropped it on the ground again, eyes blazing. "Happy now?"

The little girl Serenity ran up to him and hugged him tight. "Why do you insist on fighting them?" she asked as she pulled away.

Before Luke could answer, the black-haired girl strode up to him and shoved her face in his. "Exactly my question. You know there are Slayers around. Our job is to kill vampires, not beat them to bloody pulps." Buffy smiled as she remembered Giles saying something like that to her back in high school. Then her thoughts turned to the Slayer comment, and she wondered what grudge these kids had against fellow demon hunters.

"Sorry, Katarina," he sneered at her, and she backed up a few paces. "I was having fun. Maybe you would like to just get everything over with, but I'd like to enjoy myself before I die."

"Well, the way you're acting your expiration date is looming close on the horizon."

Serenity tried to push herself in between her two comrades to calm them down, but it didn't work. Their voices rose in volume as they continued to argue.

"Look who's talking, Miss Must-Read-Tarot-Cards-Today-To-See-If-I-Die."

"At least I won't be surprised when it comes, but I know you will. Everything's a surprise because you can't see what's right in front of your nose!"

"Well –"

"Silence." An icy voice drifted down from the hill above thecemetery.The three spun to face a seventeen year old girl with long waves of fiery red hair and eyes made of storm clouds coming towards them. Buffy looked at her, surprised. She hadn't even sensed another presence on her Slayer radar. But as she watched, she understood how the girl easily could be skimmed over. Although she radiated power, she was silent, cold, unwavering. Part of the earth.

"Sorry, Lita," Luke and Katarina mumbled, their eyes on their feet as if they were being scolded by a parent. Serenity smiled up at her, relief clear in her eyes.

But Lita wasn't listening. She was frozen, staring at the Mausoleum. Although Buffy was well-hidden behind the wall, something told her that this girl could sense her just as much as vice versa. She peered out again, and saw Lita's eyes reflect sorrow and unbearable pain for a moment before disappearing behind the stormy depths.

Serenity noticedthatsomthingwas wrong. "Lita, are you alright?" She took Lita's hand. "The job is done. Lita, are you in there?"

But the next word that came out of Lita's mouth caused the group to freeze in terror. "Slayer."

* * *

A/N: Ha, first chapter of first Buffy fanfic! Do you guys like it? Please R&R, it makes me very happy! Plus, I'll send you a virtual cookie!

Anyway, the basic idea of this story came to me a long time in the form of a question. Why aren't there any kids that are heroes? As I got older, I learned that there's not exactly a great amount of kid actors that also have the skill to pretend to fight evil. So, introducing an hunting squad made up of preteens and teens!

And yes, her name is Katarina, not Katrina. I added the extra 'a' for funness!


	2. Verbal PingPong

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Because then there would be an episode where Angel and Spike fight over Buffy. Cause that would be fun.

Chapter Two - Verbal Ping-Pong

Buffy stiffened as she felt four pair of eyes turn in her direction. Lita's were stone cold, Katarina's were shocked, Serenity's were frightened, and Luke's… Luke's were murderous. She almost flinched as she saw the rage bubbling up in them, the barely restrained fury.

"Show yourself, Slayer," he hissed, gripping the handle of his ax so tight that his knuckles turned white. "Come out and die."

Despite the intensity of the situation, Buffy almost laughed at that. It was the exact thing that Harmony had written on a piece of paper, taped to a rock, and thrown through her window. That hadn't ended too well, though, with Harmony getting an invite into her house and all. Plus, Xander almost get bitten.

She sighed and emerged from behind the wall, twirling her stake. "Really?" she asked Luke, whose eyes were literally bugging out of his head. Either he had some really nasty thoughts going around in there or she was a lot scarier then she remembered. "Cause I was planning on dying tomorrow." She stopped and pulled a dagger out of her sleeve. Since coming to Chester, she learned that demons weren't the only things that went bump in the night, and most purse snatchers generally ran away when you pulled a knife on them. "Or maybe it was next Wednesday…"

"Yeah, well, just consider it off your to-do list." The black haired girl stepped forward, also holding a stake.

"FYI, I'm not a vampire," Buffy stated, motioning at the pointed wooden object in Katarina's hand. Then she glanced over at Lita, who hadn't moved from her previous position and was still just staring at her. "Although you seem to know that."

Katarina smirked. "FYI," she countered, gesturing at Buffy's stake, "neither am I."

Buffy shrugged and pocketed Mr. Pointy, but kept a hold on her dagger. "Then what are you? Rogue demon hunters? People that fell into a toxic pool and got super powers?"

Katarina raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by an incredulous Luke. "You don't know who we are?"

Serenity, forgetting her initial fear as she listened to the verbal ping-pong, looked up at Lita with a question in her eyes. "I thought the Watchers had spread the news about us to all the Slayers?"

"This one is different," Lita murmured without taking her eyes off Buffy. With an unearthly grace, she strode towards her, stopping beside Luke and Katarina. "You're not like the other Slayers, are you?" She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head, reminding Buffy briefly of Spike. "You have more power then them, and much more experience. You were an original, before the curse that brought them all together. You've known love, yet you have a thirst for violence and bloodshed. You've found light in the darkest of places, in the darkest of beings." She gave a small smile. "You are unique."

Despite herself, Buffy smiled as well and rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Took people long enough to figure that out back home."

Luke turned to Lita, his eyes still wide. "Does that mean she may accept us?"

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "Whoa, accept you? I just met you, plus you threatened to kill me. And you took out those three vamps without a second thought. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Come," Lita said, motioning with her hand. "We have much to talk about."

"Okay," Buffy put her hand up. "Did you not hear what I just said?" But the four had turned and were trudging up the hill into the deep forest beyond. Buffy put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes skyward. "Nobody ever listens to me." But curiosity got the better of her, and she followed after the small group, muttering to herself.

* * *

A/N: Short chapter, I know. But I didn't want to get into the depths of their history and stuff until Chapter Three or Four at least. Because that'll take a while and I wanted this to be rather shortish. Please R&R, cause then you get to see who these kids really are.

Kudos to Gotta Have Faith13, my only reviewer. Glad you liked it!


	3. Walking and Talking

A/N: SO sorry it took so long to get this one up. Kinda busy fitting my whole social life into these last two weeks before school, cleaning my room, finishing homework, etc. etc. Basically, all the stuff I promised to do before summer's over. Which it almost is. (pouts) This sucks.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, I would be walking around with an 'I own Buffy!' t-shirt and getting mauled by fans.

Chapter Three - Walking and Talking

The forest was dark and forbidding, yet strangely serene for Buffy. Of course, the entire effect was lost because of the pace at which she had to maintain in order to keep up with the unusual group of four. They were fast, that was for sure, and not human – only something supernatural could keep up this quick a pace for this long. Indeed, they had traversed several miles into the dark woods, and Buffy had all but lost her sense of direction.

She tried to keep her panting to herself as she struggled to catch up with Serenity, who was trailing slightly behind the others and kept glancing over her shoulder to make sure Buffy was still there. Overall, the Slayer found this extremely disconcerting and was about to say something to the girl when she suddenly dropped back to her side. Serenity looked up at her, several indistinguishable emotions running across her face fleetingly before she gave a small smile.

"How old were you when you were called?" The ten-year old queried. Buffy hesitated, unsure if she should answer. After all, they hadn't even asked Buffy her name, and she only knew theirs by eavesdropping. A puzzled look crossed her features. Why was that?

Serenity misinterpreted the look as confusion caused by her question. "I mean, Slayers are called, right? They don't even know demons exist until they're called to slay them. Right?" She frowned and looked down at her shabby previously white sneakers, wringing her hands nervously. "I mean, that's what I've read. Or maybe I heard it from someone. Probably Devin. I'm so totally gonna kick his ass when we get there…" Serenity looked up to see Buffy staring down at her, an amused expression on her face.

Buffy smiled. She liked the girl. Serenity was obviously intelligent and willing to learn, and it seemed like she had a good heart. Plus, she was curious. It reminded Buffy of when she was in the Initiative, asking questions on the demon they were currently being sent out to fight. _Only this time_, she reflected, _the receiving end will be happy to provide this girl with knowledge._

"Yeah, Slayers are called," Buffy clarified. A look of pleasant self-achievement spread of Serenity's features, and a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "I started slaying when I was fifteen. It's kinda freaky when you first find out, y'know?" She relived the memory of staking her first vampire, and shuddered at her lack of ability. "So…" she continued, eager to know about the group before her. "When did you figure out that we're not this world's only inhabitants?"

Serenity shrugged, her messy blond ponytail bouncing behind her. "Always known." She gestured with her chin ahead of them, where Luke and Katarina were arguing in low tones and Lita was simply staring resolutely ahead, thinking. "Lived with them my whole life." She flashed her pearly whites at the Slayer, who also smiled. "Couldn't imagine a better one. Or any other one, for that matter. I don't know what I'd do with myself if I couldn't go out nightly and kill stuff."

"Whoa, you patrol every night?" Buffy tried extremely hard not to sound incredulous, but her efforts were futile. She tried to think about bringing Dawn with her on every patrol, and then tried desperately to stop the thoughts pouring in about her sister getting her ass kicked by some fledgling.

"Yeah," Serenity looked at her quizzically, before nodding her head in understanding and rolling her eyes. "Oh, don't start with the whole 'you're-too-young-and-have-a-full-life-ahead-of-you-and-could-get-killed-any-moment-when-you're-in-that-kind-of-danger' speech. I've heard it, okay? And I really don't care what you say."

"No, it's not that," Buffy told her, once again amused by the little girl's spunk and was surprised she was only ten. "I totally get that. My mom would give it to me when I got into super-patrol mode. Or when the Apocalypse was coming. And that one time I asked if Wil and I could drive to L.A. to go shopping… Although that time I think it was for Willow."

"Wait. Your best friend's name is Willow? As in Willow Rosenberg, the badass Wicca who tried to end the world?" Serenity's eyes were huge as she anxiously anticipated the answer.

Dumbly, Buffy nodded her head. How was it that _everyone_ heard about these things?

Serenity's smile was beaming. "That's awesome. No wonder Lita likes you so much." She faced forward again, now bouncing happily and humming, content with her new knowledge.

On the other hand, Buffy felt like she had just been slugged in the stomach. She finished the phrase in her head. _Lita likes you so much because you're best friends with someone who tried to bring about an apocalypse._ Suddenly, she didn't want to be near these strange… whatever-the-hells they were anymore. If they were some super cult out to end the world, she'd go home, get people researching, and kick them out of this dimension and let 'em end another one. As she opened her mouth to speak – she decided to make some lame reason up to escape instead of having to fight – the processional stopped on a dime. Only the Slayer's sharp reflexes stopped her from stepping on the back of Katarina's shoe.

Lita turned, smiled, and then gestured with a hand in front of her. "Welcome to our home."

Buffy peered around the two older teens to get a good look at what Lita was pointing at. Then her eyes furrowed together in confusion. "It's a hill."

A/N: Okies, the line thingys not working, so just pretend there is one. I promise, the next chapter will be up sooner - although not as soon as the others - and it will get more into depth on the whole kid fighter thing. And also, if it's not too much to ask, I'd like three more reviews before my next chapter... It kinda motivates me more, and I respond to every one!

Thanx, 2-crazed-ink-slingerz! It's good to know that someone enjoys these.


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